Chuck Wendig of the blogsite, Terrible Minds, sponsored a horror story collaboration as a writing challenge over the last three weeks. I wrote the first part of a story called The Dark Fairy and two other excellent writers wrote Parts 2 and 3. Here is the entire story for your reading enjoyment:
Enjoy!
Rosemary
If we were having coffee today, I would be so excited to see all of you! I would want to know what is happening in each and every one of your lives. I feel like I’m getting to know so many of you and I’m interested in what’s going on with you. We are quite a community, I think!
If we were having coffee, I would offer you regular coffee or decaf along with regular tea or decaf. You would have your choice of green tea, black tea, or oolong tea. Sometimes, I switch over to oolong as it is a nice change. I have an excellent green tea from China that some of you might enjoy. I have a strong Russian black tea that is serious business if you really need a jolt this morning.
I also have an excellent chicory coffee as I know some of my guests love chicory or you can choose from several blends of coffee including a maximum strength or a lighter breakfast strength.
I have added hot chocolate as it is getting cool here where I live. Please pour yourself whatever pleases you. We’re having our beverages in my dining room today. Please join me!
If we were having coffee today, I would tell you about the project of converting my sunroom to my writing room. It is almost finished and I am now in the decorating phase. My biggest challenge was heating and cooling but I was able to solve that problem. I still have the issue of window coverings. RIght now, I’m only using window shades, but I want something more insulating and decorative than that. Does anyone have any ideas? If you do, please let me know in your comments and I appreciate it!
I was able to fit a small bookcase in my new writing room. That’s where I will put all my dictionaries and other books on writing. Sometimes, I still like to consult hard copy books. I had to have another electrical circuit put into the room due to the high electrical usage in there. Not only will there be more than one computer operating at the same time, plus a lot of lights, but also a pretty powerful electric heater in the winter and a window air conditioning unit in the summer.
I’m concentrating on artwork for my writing room. I’m using some funky and odd things I’ve picked up. My friend gave me a beautiful shell coaster for my tea. I’m also using pictures I have edited myself, then had them printed and framed. Most of these pictures have been taken during my travels. I’m gradually looking for pictures I took in Europe during my visits there.
I’m thrilled that I’m actually going to be able to have some plants in my writing room. My house is dark since I live in the forest but the writing room is filled with natural light. I know I want a beautiful Boston fern hanging over a window. Any suggestions for more hanging plants or a nice plant to sit on top of my desk? The room gets morning sun. I would love it if you would give me suggestions in the comments.
That’s all that has been going on with me. I would love to hear what is going on with you. If you have suggestions about plants for my writing room or window coverings, please let me know in the comments. Thank you!
I’ve so enjoyed having you for coffee. Please come back next week! #weekendcoffeeshare #writing #amblogging #amwriting
This post is sponsored by Parttimemonsterblog.com
Thank you, Diana!
Most of the time, stream of consciousness posts don’t have a subject as you simply write whatever comes to mind. My thoughts today are on one subject and that is the healing power of the ocean and how, this past week, that healing power helped me.
I spent some time this week at the Atlantic Ocean. My favorite ocean because it’s the rough one, the wild one, and probably because it’s the first one I ever saw. I felt an affinity with the sea from the first moment I saw it, heard it, smelled it, and this week, that bond came right back to me. Do you know how I first react when I see the ocean? I cry. Every single time.
When I went to visit the ocean this time, I went with some very specific thoughts on my mind. They are still there although the power of the ocean has helped me at least partially resolve these thoughts. I’ve been feeling anger and confusion. Hurt and grief. All that will take a long time to go away, particularly the hurt which I suspect I will carry with me the rest of my life. Research supports that the sound of crashing waves has a healing effect on our minds and bodies as it causes us to enter deep states of relaxation. For weeks now, relaxation has escaped me. While at the ocean, I kept my oceanfront balcony door open, even all night, so I could hear the crashing waves. Somehow, I knew that would help me. Even though the nights were very cool, I slept listening to the sound of a rather rough Atlantic’s waves hitting the shore. I felt better every day.
The philosopher, Plato, said, “The sea cures all ailments of man.”
As I sat on that beach in Virginia and looked at the horizon, I felt a very fundamental shift in my thinking. The anger and confusion I’ve felt for so many weeks started to drain away. I started to understand, not what had happened, but my own reaction to it. The grief I felt didn’t seem quite so deep and gut-wrenching.
As I walked barefoot on the sand and waded in the sea water, I remembered what I had read about the healing powers of the sea. Not only can the ocean produce calmness, but it can actually change our perception about our lives, restore harmony in our souls, and restore our hope and open-mindedness. It is grounding. Looking at the horizon, on the other hand, provides us with a view of our future. That it is endless and limitless. I needed to feel all of these things and the Atlantic didn’t let me down. By the time I left, I had a new perspective and new hope. Before I arrived, I didn’t feel like I would ever have any hope again.
I’ve only been back home a couple of days but the feelings I got from being by the big, beautiful Atlantic haven’t left me. Although the hurt from the events which caused me to need to seek the solace of the ocean will always be with me, now I feel I can move forward with my life in a positive manner.
Grief is a process that you move through in stages. Sometimes, it takes a long time. Other times, not so long. You are never quite the same after you grieve someone or something. Grief changes you in a fundamental way. Time does not help, unlike the old saying alleges. What does help is understanding your grief and coming to terms with it. You have to accept you’ll never be quite the same ever again and find ways to live your life to accommodate that. The deep hurt that accompanies grief is what, I think, makes us who we are as people. What we can’t do is let that hurt stop us from living our very best lives.#amwriting #amblogging #writing #grief #SoCS
Thanks, Linda!
Chuck Wendig, published author, blog owner at Terribleminds.com, and sponsor of a flash fiction contest is having a collaborative storytelling event. I wrote the first third of The Dark Fairy. Another blogger wrote the second part of The Dark Fairy. We hope a third author will write the third and last part of the story next week (the week of Oct 24).
Follow the progress of The Dark Fairy at the second or third links above! Thanks and enjoy!
Rosemary
Reblogged on rosemarycarlson.com – Writings from the Heart. Wow! The food looks wonderful. Your work is awesome. You’ve taken such great care to make us all comfortable! Come over and visit me!
Yeah! It’s fun time again. 🙂
We have hit October so fast that sometimes my mind spins at the way time zooms by. Doesn’t it make one feel like a happy hamster running around in circles in pursuit of time? 🙂
Anywhoo, I hope your weekend is going great. You are most welcome to my monthly meet & mingle, shake a leg & jingle, connect & interact with other awesome folks in here.
If this is your first-time visit, the rules of play are outlined below, if you are an old-timer, you know the drill.
Grab some refreshments and favours which nicely arranged down the page. Feel free to indulge, these are zero calories😉
Just some little party rules:
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Recently, I did something I’m ashamed of. I accused a friend of something that he did not do. I was under extreme stress – that is the only reason this happened. I trust this friend implicitly. I want my friend to know that I know he was not responsible for what has happened. That I still trust him completely. I also want him to know that I’m here for him if he needs me – always and forever. I hope he can forgive me. That’s all.
So are the terms hillbillies and rednecks, when used to refer to the people of Appalachia, considered derogatory? The short answer is yes, usually they are. If we explore where those terms originally came from, we’ll see that they were not necessarily meant to be derogatory terms but the American people took them and ran with them. Remember The Beverly Hillbillies TV show? The Dukes of Hazzard? Deliverance, the movie? These words were certainly derogatory in connection with these television shows and, in the case of the first show, gave the viewers something to laugh at. In the case of the movie, Deliverance, these words were more to frighten and horrify viewers.
It is unclear where the word “hillbilly” originated, but it may have been derived from similar words in the Scots-Irish culture. The Scots-Irish people were among the first settlers of Appalachia and may have brought this word with them. The word “hillfolk” was used by the Scots to describe those who preferred living in the mountains and isolation from society. The word “billie” was used to refer to a companion. After the Civil War, Appalachia became perceived as backward as the US moved westward and Appalachia was left isolated geographically and inbred because of that. During the Great Depression, and after, there was outward migration from Appalachia to the north in search of work. The poor whites who emerged from the mountains became figures in stories and the characterization of “hillbillies” emerged even stronger.
When “hillbillies” self-identify, they simply say they are people living in the mountainous regions. When “rednecks” self-identify, they refer to a time when union coal miners fought against mine operators who were trying to oppress them and wore red bandanas around their necks. Rednecks often tie themselves to an entire political and cultural movement in the US. Both terms tend to take on derogatory meanings when used by outsiders. This writer prefers the term “Appalachians” to reflect the proud heritage of the people of the region. #amwriting #writing #blogging #Appalachia
In 1887, Oregon became the first state to make Labor Day an official holiday, with Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York quickly following suit.
–Brendan I. Koerner
When I decided to blog about Labor Day and its significance in the United States, I went to the obvious first source for information — the US Department of Labor. There I found some excellent information that I will share with you. But, I certainly did not find full information. I had to dig deep for that and I will share that with you as well.
To many of us now, Labor Day means a three-day weekend/holiday in early September. To workers of the past, it meant a nod to the hard work they had done during the year and that nod was hard won. It is a national tribute to the workers of America and was created in the late 1800s by the labor movement itself. There was a movement toward establishing the Labor Day holiday in New York CIty in 1882 and the holiday was actually established in 1884 by the Central Labor Union in New York. It was called a “workingman’s holiday.”
Labor Day was established by one state and then another until 1894 when an Act of Congress finally approved the holiday for the entire country.
That, my friends, is the sanitized version of how Labor Day came to be. Now let’s look at the real story which is pretty bloody. There was a recession in America in the early 1890s. That recession led to a lessening of demand for railway cars which caused the management of railway organizations to lower wages and lay off workers. The workers became angry and the situation worsened as riots started to happen. Things were bad in 1894 when Labor Day was proclaimed by then-President Grover Cleveland. Many people died due to the railway strike.
It should be noted that, throughout history, working people have had to fight for their rights and often had to oppose management. Instead of just considering the first weekend in September a holiday, let’s reflect on how middle class working people built this country while fighting for their rights. #amwriting #LaborDay #writing #blogging
Time for this week’s #weekendcoffeeshare and since my friend, Jenn, can’t join me for coffee this week, I would like to share my coffee with all of you. So, grab a cup, pull up a chair, and help me deal with a subject that has made me quite contemplative this week.
That subject is mortality. A subject that makes most of us, including me, uncomfortable. But, bear with me. This week, I have had a dear uncle and the father of a first cousin, once removed, pass away and mortality is quite on my mind. First, my uncle. He was my uncle by marriage. You couldn’t find a better man. He had been chronically ill for years and passed away at age 85. A good long life for a man with more chronic illnesses than you would wish on your worst enemy, let alone a fine man. Then, my cousin’s dad passed away at age 79. He, too, had been chronically ill for years, some of his illnesses possibly brought on by lifestyle, and he, too, had a good long life.
My uncle was a church-going, spiritual man or that is the way it appeared on the outside. He was good to his family and friends and lived life as he seemed to want to live his life. My cousin’s dad would probably have been described as “fun-loving” back in the day when he was still well. He was described as living life “on his own terms” which is really just another way to say that he did what he damn well pleased. I’ve thought a lot about those descriptions of these two men – both of whom I liked immensely.
A question tickles my brain. Given what I’ve just told you about these two men, didn’t both of them “live life on their own terms” even though it was only my cousin’s dad, the fun-loving guy, who was usually described that way? I’ve found that when someone is described in that way, it may be derogatory. Not always, but often. But, my uncle, a religious man, probably lived life on his own terms as well, though they were different terms and perhaps more socially acceptable than those “terms” under which my cousin’s dad lived. Who’s to say my uncle didn’t have just as much fun in his own way? Or that my cousin’s dad wasn’t spiritual in his own way?
I’m tired of placing people in boxes and stereotyping. We don’t know what goes on in other people’s heads. I am sure both of these men had good and bad qualities as do we all. They had flaws and wonderful characteristics. They were just different. Let’s give each other the benefit of the doubt and a break. #weekendcoffeeshare
In my part of the world, fall is starting to arrive. Although not according to the calendar quite yet. Yesterday, I spent some time relaxing outside on my front porch. My porch looks out into the forest and onto the lightly traveled county road in front of my house. More often than not, there are more deer than cars trooping along that road, and in my front yard, making their way to the feeding troughs we keep full for them. As I sat on the porch, I was musing about how the woods look like fall and I fell into a reverie thinking of the melody, harmony, and beat of life, particularly in the fall.
Sometimes I think fall is my favorite time of year. Then I wonder why. Fall, in so many ways, is the end. The end of the summer, of good weather, of good times with our friends outdoors, of easy travel and easier living. I look around me as I sit on my porch and i see the beginnings of fall. My clematis are trying to produce a few of their fall blooms. The black-eyed susans and purple coneflowers are frantically blooming the last of their flowers. The oak, maple, and poplar trees are turning a dingy green with some yellowing of leaves. The sycamore maples will be the first to go. The underbrush is starting to die off.
The wildlife are particularly affected by the changing of the seasons. I hear the Canadian geese as they fly overhead. Heading south, honking as they go. Chipmunks are everywhere with their cheeks full of any nuts they can find, storing food for winter. The deer even look like fall. In the summer, their coats are a chestnut red. Now they are turning gray in order to blend in with the winter forest. I have seen the antlers of the two large bucks who come to the feeding troughs and they have gotten huge. At least eight points each. The fawns the does started to bring to feed early in the summer have grown up, except for a few, and are losing their spots and becoming less dependent on their mothers. We still have a few very small fawns and i am rooting for them to grow and grow fast so they will survive the winter.
The butterflies and hummingbirds are mostly gone now. Headed south on their long journey. Some of the birds are gone but many of the species indigenous to this area stay, foraging for food.
Where I live in the U.S., we have four distinct seasons, though not as distinct as they once were. Summer has been hot and humid this year. We have reached 90 degrees many days which is odd for this corner of the world. Of course, the world is heating up. The humidity has been higher than usual, more like the Gulf Coast than the Ohio Valley. Winters used to be hard with a lot of snow and ice. Not so much now with the heating of the earth. We once had big snows and we still sometimes do. But, they are an anomaly rather than a normal occurrence. It is still cold here in the winter but usually not the brutal cold of days gone by.
Still, there is fall, that in-between time. The time between hot and cold, between summer and winter, between the lush greenery that surrounds me and the stark hardness of a deciduous forest in winter. Fall is sometimes warm, sometimes cool. Preparing us for the cold of winter, for the hardships of winter. Making us forget the uncomfortable heat and humidity of a summer that has grown too hot for the place we call home. In the fall, we try to hang on to the rituals of summer as long as possible.
It occurred to me that the changing of the seasons is like a song. There is a melody and a harmony. Music has a melody and a harmony and so does seasonal change. Melody is usually defined as the main series of notes of a song that stand out and enable us to remember a song. I think of summer as the melody of the year. It is the main event. The series of notes that stand out to us, when the world is fresh, green, alive, singing. The transition to fall is the harmony. Harmony is the series of notes that are counter-melody. It is chords that are pleasing to the ear that complement melody much like fall complements summer and eases our transition into winter.
The change of the seasons corresponds to the concept of beat in music. A constant rhythmic pulse that is never-ending. The beat is the skeleton of the seasonal change while the melody is summer and harmony is the seasonal transition. Beat, in music, in life, in the change of the seasons, is what you feel in your heart. Fall is like a song. #amwriting #writing #blogging #fall #music
The Write Scribe 